ORANGE COUNTY FIREFIGHTER CONVICTED OF RECEIVING AND POSSESSING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

Los Angeles, CA - Following a two-week jury trial, a firefighter with the Orange County Fire Authority was convicted today of receiving child pornography over the Internet and possessing multiple images of child pornography, including images depicting bestiality and bondage.

Tyrone A. Ganoe, 42, of Norwalk, was arrested last January after a law enforcement agent monitoring the Internet used peer-to-peer software to download five videos depicting child pornography. During the investigation, agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement seized Ganoe’s computer and discovered more than 70 images and movie files containing explicit images of child pornography.

Following this morning’s guilty verdicts on three counts, United States District Judge Dale S. Fischer remanded Ganoe into custody.

Ganoe is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Fischer on April 16. At sentencing, Ganoe faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a statutory maximum penalty of 50 years in prison.

"As this case clearly shows, those who engage in the exploitation of children should no longer expect the anonymity of cyberspace to protect them," said Robert Schoch, special agent in charge for the ICE office of investigations in Los Angeles. "This defendant's actions were particularly troubling because of his position in the community and the graphic nature of the material involved."